The Reagans vs. the Kennedys

It seems rather ironic that Hollywood doesn't want to make movies about Ronald Reagan. Perhaps it's because virtually no one in the industry can stand his belief system. Or it could be that Hollywood's last effort was an exercise in character assassination. A made-for-TV movie planned for CBS in late 2003 was ignominiously taken off the schedule and moved to a premium pay-cable channel after outraged conservative protests (which, full disclosure, I heartily joined).

Hollywood liberals, editorialists, network anchors and TV critics at that time exploded in horror over what The New York Times called the "Soviet-style chill" caused by Reagan supporters. "Censorship!" was the clarion call of the day. And week. And month.

On Jan. 8, the owners of The History Channel announced that they were scrubbing a splashy, $30 million, eight-hour miniseries on "The Kennedys," starring Greg Kinnear as JFK and Katie Holmes (Mrs. Tom Cruise) as Jackie. The Kennedy family objected, and demanded it be pulled. On Feb. 1, it was announced that a deal was struck to unload this massive project on the ReelzChannel, a tiny network where the project will be lost. "Censorship!"? This time, the free-speech-loving critics are as quiet as church mice.

I can offer no comment on whether this Kennedy miniseries has any redeeming historical or artistic merit. Some have complained that it traffics in unproven tabloidish details like JFK explaining that he needs to commit adultery to keep away his migraines. Some simply complained that the creator, Joel Surnow, is a conservative who made the series "24." But where are the Hollywood "artists" screaming about creative freedom now?

Please recall what happened with "The Reagans." Barbra Streisand, the wife of James Brolin (who played Reagan in that production), proclaimed, "The Republicans who deify President Reagan cannot stand that some of the more unpleasant truths about his character and presidency might be depicted in the movie." Brolin's agent, Jeff Wald, added, "We seem to be in a very oppressive era where they can censor something before they even see it."

Judy Davis, the Australian actress who played Nancy Reagan as a controlling witch, also complained about censorious America. "With the climate that has been in America since September 11, it appears, from the outside anyway, to not be quite as open a society as it used to be ... By open, I mean as free in terms of a critical atmosphere, and that sort of ugly specter of patriotism."